Well hello loves.  I hope this blog post finds you well.  I’ve been away for sometime due to this thing called LIFE and needing to take care of myself.  I also unfortunately lost someone in my family and I have had some health scares.  My precious great grandmother passed away at the age of 103.  Yes, you read that correctly, 103 years old!  She indeed lived an incredibly long life.  Her mind stayed super sharp and her strength through what we found out was a terminal cancer, was uncanny.  She honestly had to have had this for quite some time and no one knew it.  She never complained.  To top it off, was probably doing her own laundry up until the last six months or so of her life.  Crazy right!  It was a blessing that within days of the diagnosis, she passed peacefully.

In terms of my own health, thankfully, it doesn’t seem to be anything serious and I have some regimens in place to get going in the right direction.  Not to mention that just prior to all of this, a planned vacation with family was canceled due to a hurricane.  I share all of this not for you to feel sorry or to complain to you all.  I share because through all of this, I have also struggled with myself and guess what THAT’S OKAY.  There are many lessons I have learned through this and I am still learning.  So with today’s post, I am going to share some of those with you.

Listen to your body

For months, I had not felt well.  My chest would become incredibly tight and at times would hurt.  I often would have spells where I literally could barely breathe or get a deep breath.  I’ve been diagnosed with asthma but I thought this feels different and my inhalers just wouldn’t work.  After a bad episode one night and a rough morning, it was time to head to the doctor.  Due to my symptoms, I ended up spending the night in the ER.  I was checked from head to toe including blood work, EKG’s, stress test you name it.  My family has a history with needing heart valves replaced and as you can imagine, that was going through my mind.  Worst of all, a potential heart attack.  Thankfully, that was not the case.  Due to everything that had been going on, anxiety they believe was playing a part along with some dietary issues. However, I knew there had to be more.  So, I pushed for allergy testing to start ruling things out and get more answers.  Low and behold, I have now acquired additional allergies which include, mold, ragweed, trees, grass and pollen.  In the words of my brother-n-law, just give me my bubble now.  That is not to poke fun, it’s due to the fact of the Carolina’s dealing with those allergens almost year round now.  Ugh!  But, that at least explained the issues with not being able to breathe.  I now have different medications and will be starting allergy shots.

Get Routine Checkups

Due to the circumstances I have been experiencing, I had to remind myself of family history as I shared that with all of the doctors.  With that said, it triggered the fact that I was behind on routine checkups.  I let life get in the way and didn’t prioritize what was most important.  Whether you have a family history of issues or not, get your mammograms, get your annuals, and go and get your skin checked!!!  I can’t stress this things enough.  Do not put them off, it’s not worth it.  My nana was diagnosed with breast cancer over twenty years ago and due to that being caught early, it was able to be removed.  Additionally, a dear friend of mine was also diagnosed and is battling now.  However, believing and trusting that being caught and treated early will too save her life.

Focus On Your Health

Exercise…proper sleep…a healthy diet.  A regimen I follow everyday, um nope.  I have let all of this fall by the wayside and when things are tough, those three habits can’t be more important.  However, I was beating myself up over not doing them, which simply exacerbated everything.  LIFE happens.  STOP beating yourself up if this is also you.  Simply make a plan and get back on track.  When you fall behind, dust yourself off and get back up again.  It’s a marathon, an everyday journey, not a sprint.

You Are Beautiful

I have struggled my entire life with self-confidence.  I have focused on my imperfections and almost cringed when receiving compliments.  And guess what, that’s ridiculous and just down right stupid.  If you don’t like the way you feel from a health standpoint, then as mentioned above, you can fix that.  However, shut the negativity towards yourself down.  You are beautiful and have amazing qualities about you that absolutely no one else has because you are created to be the unique person that you are.  Own it and simply be the best you that you can be.

Photos by Willam Avery Photography